Less than 10 miles from the town of Napa, Wooden Valley occupies a 2-mile stretch of rolling hills and lush farmland, where plums, pears and walnuts dot the land and grapes grow in abundance.

At its heart sits Altamura Winery.

A family-run operation, the winery is the only one of its kind in this hidden locale, set back from the street with no sign to announce its presence. Yet, its owners are anything but off the radar.

Wine Country fixtures, the entire Altamura family - Frank; his wife, Karen; and sons Frank Jr., 27 and Giancarlo, 25 - were born and raised in Napa. Frank and Karen started the winery at their Wooden Valley property in 1985, but it wasn't until they opened their popular Yountville restaurant, Ciccio, in late 2012 that the affable family solidified their place at the center of the Napa Valley scene.

To ask patriarch Frank, both businesses happened without much fanfare - or, for that matter, a blueprint of any kind.

"I had no plan," Altamura admits. "I thought maybe if I was lucky I could grow grapes and sell them. And then the next step was making a little bit of wine, and that turned out OK, so I made a little more."

Always passionate about farming, food and cooking, he viewed the restaurant as a natural step. Still, he says, it was somewhat spontaneous - he leased the building before deciding on a concept or chef.

Old grocery

Built in 1916, the small wooden building at the north end of Yountville was an Italian grocery that Frank used to visit as a child. Although it has housed other businesses since, he always felt a connection to the original. So when it became available a few years ago, he felt an intrinsic pull to tie down the lease. What he'd do with the place would come later.

Although it was three decades earlier, the launch of the family winery also was a direct result of the land acquisition that preceded it.

The 400-acre property has been in the family since 1855, when Karen's relatives came from Kentucky in an ox-pulled wagon and settled on it. At the time, her ancestors used it mainly to raise cattle.

That was her mother's lineage. Her father's side came to the United States from Genoa, Italy; Frank's grandparents came around the turn of the century as well, from Puglia. Both families were in the Napa Valley by the 1940s and knew each other well - even to the point that Frank and Karen's parents set them up. They've been married for 32 years.

When Karen's mother died, the Wooden Valley ranch, at that point largely unused, was left to the newlyweds. Frank had been learning about viticulture and winemaking, working his way through a few different vineyards - Sterling, Trefethen and Caymus among them.

"They knew, leaving it to us, that we'd do something with it. And that we'd keep it in the family," Frank says.

If younger son Giancarlo is any indication, they've done just that. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a focus on winemaking and viticulture, Giancarlo says there was never any doubt he'd end up in the business.

"I've always loved being outside, being out here," Giancarlo says, surveying the land.

Fond memories

Not only did high school sciences pique his interest, he says, but he has a deep attachment to Wooden Valley, remembering childhood days running around with friends while Dad grilled hot dogs from the winery building. "We used to play paintball in the hills," he reminisces.

Now, alongside Frank, Giancarlo plays a role in every aspect of the business. He's hands-on with the winemaking, does much of the planting, bartends at the restaurant at night and makes most of the pizza dough.

"I thought bartending a few nights a week for him was really good," Frank says, "getting to know the flavor profiles of the wine and food, hearing comments and just interacting with people. You can get stuck out in Wooden Valley pretty easily."

It was important to Frank that everyone in the family could get involved if that was their choice.

"In the beginning, when I got the idea to do the restaurant, I said to both boys, 'If you want to be a partner, you have to put money in, and you have to work.' And that's what they did."

Family responsibilities are split, with Frank and Giancarlo doing the creative hands-on work, and Karen and Frank Jr., or "Frankie" - a software engineer - taking care of the books and, as the elder Frank lovingly puts it, the "computer crap."

"They keep us out of trouble," jokes the patriarch, admitting that it allows him and Giancarlo to do the fun stuff.

And for a small operation, there's plenty of work to be done, in the restaurant and especially in Wooden Valley.

About 60 of the 400 acres are in vine, mostly red grapes, including Italian varieties like Negroamaro and Sangiovese. Only a small plot is planted in Sauvignon Blanc.

Wooden Valley product

The wines are 100 percent varietals; no blending. "So whatever comes off the ranch that year, it's a good expression of what's going on in Wooden Valley at that time," Frank says.

The winery sits at 800 feet, with eight or nine types of soil.

"There are a lot of variables on this one ranch that are all different parts of Napa Valley," says Frank. "We're very lucky to have that."

The winemaking has stayed on the small side, selling out each year to collectors, hobbyists and other loyal customers who have come to know the Altamura wines.

Now, says Frank, many are bottled specifically for the restaurant. "It's really fun when you have them with the food they were meant for."

That food is a rustic collection of pizzas and smaller plates that speak to Altamura's Southern Italian background.

Frank says he got lucky from the start. As soon as he took over the lease, the Yountville paper ran a small piece about it, saying that he intended to open a small Italian trattoria. That - and giving it his childhood nickname, Ciccio, which roughly translates to "little Frankie" - was as far as his planning had gone.

Polly Lappetito, who had been working as the executive chef at the nearby Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, called Altamura to find out what he had in mind.

Creating menu

"I said I had no idea, but asked her to come by and see the space," Frank recalls. The two hit it off and began collaborating on a nightly-changing menu using the freshest ingredients they could find - including chile peppers, tomatoes and herbs that grow on the Wooden Valley property.

"I just wanted really good food for people at a really good price," he says.

Indeed, the approachable, extremely affordable menu - not to mention the high quality of the food - has kept the restaurant packed since its opening. Dishes like wood-fired cauliflower with crisp breadcrumbs, unctuous cacio e pepe - a creamy, thick pasta with loads of black pepper - a whole fish laminated with Calabrian chile oil, and chewy pizzas draw patrons willing to endure a wait that can stretch over two hours.

Treasured items

In addition, Frank's attention to detail includes touches ranging from the antique meat slicer wedged into a corner of the open kitchen to the old Italian movie and cartoon posters. He has a zeal for collecting, and this space has allowed him to trot out many of his prizes.

"It's exactly like I would have dreamed it would happen," says Frank, at the same time admitting he was nervous because of how stuffy things can get in Napa. But his fears were unfounded.

"We've got kids, dogs, the whole works," he says, laughing. "One night there was a little girl walking up and down the aisles playing a harmonica."

For now, the Altamuras are soaking up the restaurant's success as well as its mayhem. Looking out over his Wooden Valley ranch, Frank shrugs when he talks about his businesses.

"It just worked out," he says. "Sometimes things do."

And to see the family at Ciccio on a busy Saturday night, it's clear that they're enjoying every second.